Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust (35 page)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

F
irst, I must thank God above all others for being a wonderful father and best friend, my truest confidant . . . and my savior. You have been my constant companion in the best of times and the very, very worst of times. Thank You, God, for opening my heart and letting me love again. I am nothing without You, and I am everything with You. I surrender to You, Lord—let Your will be done in my life. I continue to walk in Your footsteps.

To the Holy Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary: I feel you with me always. Words can’t convey the depth of my gratitude for your love and care. Keep my heart close to yours, Mother—you make me whole, and I will love you forever. Thank you for appearing in Kibeho to warn us of the danger ahead . . . if only we’d listened to you!

To Dr. Wayne Dyer: You are an angel sent from heaven. I thank God for bringing you into my life, and I feel as if our spirits have known each other forever! Your unsurpassed kindness, sage advice, and fatherly affection mean the world to me. It’s so easy to understand why so many people have been inspired by your words—you are my hero, and I love you dearly. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for believing in me, for guiding me toward my dream, and for making me aware of my true calling. And thank you for making this book a reality and letting me tell my story.

To Skye Dyer: Thank you for introducing me to your dad. I love you!

To Maya Labos: I love traveling with you—thank you for all your support and kindness. I’m so glad I know you, and I love you!

To Reid Tracy: A thousand thanks for believing in me and making all of this happen, for standing behind me all the way, and for making Hay House a home for my book.

To the wonderful team at Hay House: Jill Kramer, Shannon Littrell, Nancy Levin, Christy Salinas, Jacqui Clark, Stacey Smith, and Jeannie Liberati—you have been a joy to work with. Thank you all for your guidance, patience, and encouragement.

To my collaborator, Steve Erwin: After working together on this book, I don’t think that anyone knows me as well as you do. You are a wonderful person, and like a brother to me now. Thank you for being such a good therapist—the sensitivity you showed when asking so many intimate questions about my family means so much to me. I thank God for your magic hands—your writing brought my words and emotions to life. My gratitude to your wife, Natasha, as well, who understands all the emotions I expressed in this book, since we share the pain of losing our moms too soon. Natasha, you’re like a sister!

To Judith Garten: I love you. Thank you for encouraging me and believing in the message of this book.

To Gail Straub and David Gershon: Thank you for pushing me to finish writing my story and for making me believe in myself.

To Ned Leavitt: I thank you with all my heart for your wonderful advice and believing that I had something important to say.

To Elizabeth Lesser: Thank you for the good counsel and for inviting me to the Omega workshop in New York where I met Wayne.

To Vincent Kayijuka and Esperance Fundira: I’ll never forget how you encouraged and believed in me from the beginning. I love you guys! And a big thanks to Wariara Mbuga, Robert McMahon, Lila Ramos, Anne Kellett, Bill Berkeley, and Rebeka Martensen for all the help, kind words, good advice, and invaluable encouragement.

Many thanks to my colleagues at UNDP and the Evaluation Office—with a special thanks to David Rider Smith, Ruth Abraham, and Anish Pradhan, for your understanding and support. God bless you—I love you.

To the many dear friends I couldn’t mention, yet who have helped me in one way or another: Thank you—you are all in my heart.

And a very special thanks to two very special priests, Father Ganza Jean Baptiste and my godfather, Father Jean Baptiste Bugingo.

To my brother Aimable Ntukanyagwe, with whom I share so many memories of love and sorrow, and so much unspoken pain: I hope that in
Left to Tell,
you’ll find answers to many of the questions you’ve been unable to ask, and I’ve been unable to offer. I thank the Almighty that you are alive—you mean the world to me. Don’t worry about our folks . . . they’re happy, and they are our special advocates in heaven! Thank you for being such a wonderful big brother—for the unfailing love you’ve shown me from my earliest memory, for your faith in me, and for always encouraging me to write our family story. And my warmest thanks to Sauda: I’m blessed to be able to call you my sister-in-law and my friend—thank you for extending our family. As a fellow genocide survivor, this book will have special meaning for you. I love you so much!

To Chantal Nyirarukundo, Consolee Nishimwe, and Stella Umutoni: You are my little sisters! Thank you for being excited about this book—you’ve been a great inspiration. Know that it is for you as well, for surviving.

To my beautiful children, Nikeisha and B.J. (Bryan Jr.), and my little nephew, Ryan: You are my heart, my little angels who came to me like flowers from God. Thank you for the purity of your love and for giving me a reason to live again. I wish that we lived in a world where your innocent lives weren’t affected by hatred and you’d never have to hear the words
genocide
or
holocaust.
When you’re old enough, you will meet your grandparents and uncles in the pages of
Left to
Tell—
their memories will live on in my book. But for now I will pass along their love to you whenever you wrap your precious arms around me for hugs. You are my life, and I love you.

And finally, but certainly not least, thank you to my wonderful husband, Bryan: You rescued me from loneliness and are truly my better half—the half sent by God to complete me. Thank you for your tireless efforts and for helping me tell my story, and for all your encouragement and the late nights of reading and editing. Thank you for your constant love and protection, and for accepting God as our friend. I love you, sweetheart, with all my heart and soul.

— Immaculée

Immaculée, thank you for letting me help you tell your remarkable story to the world. Your courage, faith, resilience, insight, and wisdom continue to move and inspire me. Working with you has been my privilege, and I’m blessed to be able to call you my friend.

Thanks to Jill Kramer at Hay House for this opportunity—and for your professionalism, courtesy, and speed-of-light e-mails.

Thanks also to Shannon Littrell at Hay House for your excellent suggestions and comments.

A special thanks to Faith Farthing of FinalEyes Communications for your sound advice and exacting attention to detail.

And most of all, thank you to Natasha Stoynoff, my wife, my life, my everything. God only knows where I’d be without you.

—
Steve Erwin

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Immaculée Ilibagiza

Immaculée Ilibagiza
was born in Rwanda and studied electronic and mechanical engineering at the National University. She lost most of her family during the 1994 genocide. Four years later, she emigrated from Rwanda to the United States and began working for the United Nations in New York City. She is establishing the Ilibagiza Foundation to help others heal from the long-term effects of genocide and war. Immaculée lives in Long Island with her husband, Bryan Black, and their two children, Nikeisha and Bryan, Jr.

Steve Erwin

Steve Erwin
is a writer and award-winning journalist working in the print and broadcast media. Most recently, he was a foreign correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, journalist Natasha Stoynoff, and is writing his second novel.

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